Introduction

This is my first MOBAfire build.. I wanted to give a little back to the MOBAfire community by sharing my experience with Kassadin the crazy ninja from the void!.. I have had an unbelievable amount of success and I have around 400 games played with him.. I hope this guide will make you as addicted as I am to this insane purple nightmare! Pictures/Videos will be added soon.. Getting fraps up and running to take gameplay videos asap.. This guide needs an update over the past couple months.. I have been super busy.. Most things on this guide are spot on, Champions section needs some added, Items need a slight tweak, Videos still need to be added, Considering adding a level 8 nether blade.. Everything is just about up to date still..

Pros / Cons

Pros:
-Incredible Nuker with short cooldown
-Escape Artist
-Chase Artist
-Rips carries to pieces
-VERY strong late game
-One of the best tower divers in game!
-He looks and sounds like a badass!

Cons:
-Squishy/Weak early game
-Might have a problem with CC(I solve it with cleanse)
-Your teammates might call you a KS'er(Tell em to shove it)

This is your ultimate harassment, anti-ultimate(ie. Nunu, Fiddlesticks), AP/CC shut down ability.. At max level it enables you to completely shut down an AP user until they go splat. Early game against most classes you can harass beautifully.. Mana efficient, after level 3 you can pretty much spam it to a point.. Just make sure you save enough mana for a force pulse and then ignite for that early gank.

This is actually an almost worthless ability for AP Kassadin. I get it very last and only use it to charge up force pulse and for killing creeps. Great though for getting those quick force pulse chargers before a gank or team fight.

Force Pulse - Kassadin draws energy from spells cast in his vicinity. Upon charging up, Kassadin can use Force Pulse to damage and slow enemies in a cone in front of him.
Kassadin draws energy from spells cast in his vicinity, gaining a charge whenever a spell is cast near him. Upon reaching 6 charges, Kassadin can use Force Pulse to deal 60/120/180/240/300 (+0.8) magic damage and slow enemies by 30/35/40/45/50% in a cone in front of him for 3 seconds.

This ability will make people if not an entire team rage. Be aware early game that it doesn't do much damage and costs boatloads of mana. But by the time you hit 5-6 this ability will be scaled enough to put it to good use for ganking or early team fights. Make sure in team fights you try to catch as many targets as possible and also be aware that in a team fight this skill charges insanely quick so you should be spamming it non stop as much as possible in team fights..

Riftwalk - Kassadin teleports to a nearby location dealing damage to nearby enemy units. Additionally, multiple Riftwalks in a short period of time cause them to cost additional mana and deal additional damage.
Kassadin teleports to a nearby location dealing 60/90/120 (+0.4) magic damage to surrounding enemy units. Additionally, each subsequent Riftwalk in the next 7 seconds costs 100/100/100 additional mana and deals 60/90/120 additional damage.

This is the skill that defines Kassadin. I mean seriously who doesn't like a ALMOST infinite amount of flashes!. DO NOT use this skill for damage purposes unless the enemy is a sliver of health and at a distance.. Rather so use this for chasing/running/warping through walls!. ALTHOUGH!, if you manage to snag the blue buff then you can use riftwalk in combination with null sphere and force pulse to do a insane nuke. With blue buff active do not be afraid to charge up force pulse 5 times to charge it up for an big big nuke!.. BE AWARE!, if you don't have blue buff then make sure to watch using riftwalk several times rapidly as it can tank your mana pool very quickly! If you are low on mana and are trying to escape pick the walls you warp through wisely(ones that will take the enemy longest to get around)

Why not max Force Pulse before Null Sphere? Null Sphere is your main harassment skill(low mana cost with significant damage), Force Pulse requires charges to fire and is used mainly only for gank situations..

Why not put a point into Nether Blade at level 4 to charge Force Pulse? This is going to make you take a decent hit to your early game nuking power. Force Pulse will charge fine without it as you cast Null Sphere along with your opponents skills..

Masteries

First build 9/21/0- The reason I go for defensive tree is because I feel like it makes you astonishingly stronger early game. You have extra HP, reduced time on cleanse, Ardor for more AP, and stonger resistances. I actually prefer build one over build two, because I feel if played right with the exception of a few champions you should be able to dominate your lane early on and I will go into this more in Playstyle.

Second build 9/0/21- The reason I would go for this setup is the added experience, Added Mana Regen, Cooldown Reduction... I used to swear by this build until I tried the first build. I feel they both have their strong points and should be used based on whichever fits your playstyle!

Runes

Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction I use these because faster cooldowns will make your already quick nuke combo even faster alone with making that all important riftwalk come up faster for quicker in and out for increased survivability or chasing/escaping.

Greater Seal of Vitality I use these with my defensive mastery build because with it you already gain early survivability from the masteries so I use Vitality to help beef up late game.

Greater Seal of Health I use these with my utility mastery build to help with survivability early game which is when Kassadin is at his weakest..

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power I use these for the increased harrasment power of early game and for that always slight boost of AP throughout the game. If you are having trouble surviving early game and feel you need Greater Quintessence of Health I suppose thats an option as well.. All up to your playstyle and what you feel comfortable with.

Summoner Spells

Spells to Get: Cleanse- This in my opinion... IS A MUST HAVE!!! It will get you out of so many situations, the one thing Kassadin is vulnerable to is CC. This allows you to warp in do tons of damage, then if stunned(which happens often) able to cleanse and gtfo.. By far my favorite Kass spell!

Ignite- Also another one of my favorites, great for getting first blood or kill before even level 6!! Which is unusual for a character most say is terrible early game. Also great for facing characters like Mundo or Soraka etc.

Teleport- This makes the other team have almost an impossible time knowing where the hell you are! Say for instance you start mid, you win your lane and decide to gank bottom, you get one or maybe two kills bottom then still have enough juice left for another gank TP on a sightward or minion out of sight on top and they will hate you so much.. Also great for defending towers or getting back to the lane quickly!

Flash- Some Kassadins take flash, but I honestly feel like its a waste. No need for double flash with CDR from runes.. If Riftwalk is used properly then you should never need it.

Exhaust- Also another skill I feel Kassadin just doesn't need.. Some people swear by exhaust but you already have unbeatable chasing power, their carries are already gonna get raped by you, and escaping through walls I think is already enough.

Spells Not to Get:
-ANYTHING ELSE!!! ( Let others pick up the support spells )

Items

Core Items:

- This provides Magic Penetration so you don't have to grab Void Staff unless they are heavily stacking Magic Resistance.

- The reason I made this item core is that Kassadin has high survivability with high gankability, making it easy to obtain stacks. If you don't feel comfortable using a snowball item, you might want to consider buiding Morello's Evil Tome in its place. The cost to build is a bit higher but it gives a decent amount of ability power along with a nice cooldown reduction passive.

- This item is amazing for Kassadin because it gives him the ability to absorb a crowd control spell, if you cannot CC Kassadin this makes him 10x harder to kill. This also gives health/power and some decent magic resistance! Do they no have much AP or CC on their team? If so might want to consider grabbing a Rod of Ages!

- This is also another item I would try to avoid subbing out.. It gives you a considerable amount of AP, while also boosting your AP by a whopping 30%.. This can boost your AP if bought later in the game by 300+ giving you insane nuking power.. This can also be moved up in the buy order if you feel you can survive without morphing your catalyst.

- I like this item last because it provides some of the very necessary defense from sustained dps and lets you invulnerable long enough for a Riftwalk to come up so you can gtfo if you are being focused hard.. Also provides some nice AP..

Situational Items -

- This new item makes a GREAT replacement for Mejai's Soulstealer if you are not doing well or are cautious about snowballing.. It gives good AP and cooldown which is what we all want from the Soulstealer, the only thing is its a bit more expensive than the Soulstealer..

- If the other team doesn't have much AP or CC this is a great substitute for the Banshee's Veil.. It gives you some additional health/power and nuking power in place of the absorb and magic resistance!

- If they are stacking tons of Magic Resistance(more than just 2 people), than this item is for you!.. Is completely not needed in any other situation though as their are better items out there. Might want to consider replacing Lich Bane if they are stacking MR late game or Archangel's Staff if they are stacking MR early game.

- This item makes it much easier to burn through towers and tanks. Also good for extra damage on anyone but those in particular. This item can be subbed for another item as a last slot if you feel the situation calls for it.

- Is the majority of their team stacking health items? Do they have a insane amount of tanks? Replace Lich Bane or if you really need to be able to grind through several sets of Warmog's Armor early game, MAYBE consider replacing Archangel's Staff for it.. Although Lich Bane would ultimately be the better sub choice if possible in my opinion!

Game Flow:

Early Game: I ALWAYS start out with a Sapphire Crystal and 2 Health Potion. This gives you lots of early game mana and 2 goof up erasers lol.. Usually by level 6 you will either have a kill or a decent amount of last hits and should have over 975 gold.. If you are dominating your lane and don't need catalyst its ok to wait until you have enough for Boots of Speed and/or even sorcerer's boots if your doing REALLY well..

Mid Game: Ok by this time you should be level 6-8 and almost if not already have sorcerer's boots. This is where I start getting ready to grab a Mejai's Soulstealer(I go for Mejai's Soulstealer because Kassadin has insane survivability) also by this time you should already be winning your lane or have gone to other lanes to get a gank or two.. Further increasing your gold. Start building your Archangel's Staff for that added mana for riftwalk stacks! By the time your heading into late game you should be getting close to having Archangel's Staff or have already completed it.

Late Game: You should now be level 15+, and be done with AA's and heading onto your next item... This is where it can be a little tricky, do they have alot of AP or CC? Go for Banshee's Veil!!.. Do they have alot of AD or Tanks? Turn that catalyst of the protector into a Rod of Ages. Are you completely owning the other team? Might want to hold onto the catalyst of the protector and go straight for a Rabadon's Deathcap. Either way it goes persue a Rabadon's Deathcap right after if not first! The game is usually close to over at this point, I always like to fill the last slot with a Lich Bane to melt their tanks and towers. There are a lot of different items you could give the last slot depending on what the situation calls for, make sure to read the optional tab!

Note: After you have mejai's and your just raking in kills and not having a problem tearing their team apart don't feel wrong to just go straight for a Rabadon's Deathcap I do this in games that I wreck in because after its built you will be one shotting carries.. Also if the team is stacking MR make sure to sub in an item for a Void Staff! There is other situational items and once this guide becomes slightly more complete I will give a rundown of them all.

Note: If you feel I may be missing a situational item that would fit in this build leave me a comment letting me know.. Always open to ideas and suggestions!

Gameplay!!! - Old vids taken down, new ones will be coming soon

This is assuming you go mid or solo lane! A duo-lane section will be added soon!

Early Game: Last hit last hit last hit!!! Until your level 3 don't really bother harassing with Null Sphere try to use it to last hit hard to get to minions, but the second you hit level 3 feel free to harass with it.. If the enemy is not very smart they are gonna just keep getting slammed with this ability. Try to avoid the enemy harass and watch for champs that jump like jax and stay out of their range. If you get an enemy to around 2-3 bars of health by level 5 Force Pulse, Null Sphere and Ignite them(If you took it), watch for Heal when doing this check beginning game to see who has Heal.. If they aren't quite gankable by level 6 this is when everything turns around and you become a ganking machine. Make sure if you don't get the kill by 5 that you save up enough mana for Riftwalk, Null Sphere, Force Pulse. By this time you should have enough gold to go buy some of the early items..

Mid Game: I always like starting off mid game with a gank. You just went back and bought your catalyst and possibly boots of speed. So head to bottom or top in a sneaky fashion whichever has the more squishy and tender opponents to feed your massive appetite. If all goes well you will come out with a kill or two, at this time head back to mid.. If you won your lane earlier and got that successful kill you should have an easy time getting another one with your current item set. Harrass with Null Sphere and if at all possible dont display your true fire power until your ready to Riftwalk in and take the kill. After you have catalyst don't be afraid to tower dive Kassadin is the best in the business at it!.. Stay in your lane until you are comfortable to go buy or need to go buy because of low health or power or both. Get Mejai's so you can start the snowball effect! Keep ganking top and bottom and being a little ninja! By the end of mid game team fights should be getting more and more common but I will explain that strategy in late.

Late Game: So now the team fighting should be flaring up and you should already pretty far into your buy order.. By this time if you have been doing well you should be an almost unstoppable force. The secret with team fighting is knowing when to get in and when to get out with kassadin.. Kassadin is like the cleaning crew in team fighting(which is why hes flamed for being a ks'er even though hes not). Wait for your tank to engage! If anyone is running away with low health KILL THEM! That what you are meant to do. When possible try to Force Pulse the majority of their team, but always make sure Cleanse is up if you get dangerously close and watch for suppression skills from warwick and malzahar..

Note: When escaping, USE WALLS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!!.. Also use walls and bushes to your advantage always try to remain hidden until you strike, this will make the enemy team rage so hard and sometimes quit. When attacking people go for carries first and avoid tanks as much as possible until they are all thats left.

Summary

I hope this guide makes you better at Kassadin. I hope plenty of people rage hard because of your void walkin ways!. Please feel free to comment with suggestions and please before you downvote for some reason tell me.. I might have made an error somewhere and didn't realize it at first.. Either way I hope you enjoy and please if you try it and you have success with it toss me a comment to let me know!

Champion Rundown - Lengthy and Descriptive (Updated 5/31/11)

This section is meant to give a brief explanation of what to watch out for and how to approach every champion in the game.. I might not cover every aspect of how to fight every champion but it is meant to give you a pretty solid idea! NEW CHAMPIONS TO BE ADDED SOON !!!

-Green - Champions who shouldn't pose to much difficulty when facing you!
-Yellow - Champions who aren't necessarily difficult to fight, but will rely more on your skills vs them to come out with a win more than just having a champion advantage.
-Red - Champions who are going to take superior skill in facing, avoid laning against them if possible. Very DANGEROUS if approached wrong.

Akali - I find it fairly easy to shut Akali down. She is easily harassed just make sure to stay away from her Twilight Shroud and if needed save Riftwalk to escape from her Shadow Dance. She is generally used as an AP character so your Null Sphere will do a great number on her but she still puts out good burst if suprised.

Alistar - If you are laning against him as he wont go mid you should try to ignore him as much as possible. He has Triumphant Roar which can ruin early harassment efforts so be aware of this and his Pulverize. Most of the game unless he is the last alive you should just Riftwalk past him without lifting a finger at him.. {Edot} With the recent popularity of AP alistar do not ignore him if hes building straight AP, silences go a long way against him, try to avoid getting knocked into their team..

Amumu - The reason I don't mark him green is that nasty ultimate of his. Bandage Toss is pretty easy to avoid but do be aware using Cleanse with him as he can stun with Bandage Toss and you Cleanse then he uses Curse of the Sad Mummy and you are screwed. Otherwise he is fairly easy to harass if laning in my opinion and doesnt pose too much of a threat early game.

Anivia - She is a caster and pretty easily fought if done correctly. Things to watch out for are her Rebirth and Flash Frost. If midding against her I usually just ignore the Rebirth first time around because I get her to it quickly as she is a caster. The stun can be annoying but it is pretty easily dodged and doesnt pack to much damage.

Annie - Fighting Annie is like giving you a big birthday present!. Shes easily harassed, low hp, and a caster. The only thing to be at all wary about is her Pyromania/ Summon: Tibbers combo.. Which even then shouldn't be able to kill you and you will still probably be able to eat her soul.

Ashe - Fighting Ashe is also another present from the other team! Just not quite as much as Annie. Shes easily harassed with Null Sphere as long as you avoid Volley from standing behind your creep wave or jousting it if she is predictable. You should be able to completely shut her down by level 5. If she uses Enchanted Crystal Arrow you cleanse it right away and she will cry.

Blitzcrank - He is only a real threat before level 6. Stay behind your creep wave. But at level 6 he is almost worthless unless paired with a very heavy CC'er because if he uses Rocket Grab to pull you into a tower etc just Cleanse(if needed) and Riftwalk out.. Otherwise he is just a yellow turd walking around to Kassadin. Beware of his Power Fist in teamfights.

Caitlyn - She is more annoying than anything.. She has the potential to counter harass you with long auto's and her Piltover Peacemaker. Make sure to go left/right to avoid the Piltover Peacemaker and not backward unless you are already a very long distance away as it travels very far. Your Null Sphere should be a far greater harass then her auto's if you can avoid Piltover Peacemaker. Late game if you win against her and she doesn't by chance get fed from a teammate she shouldn't be much of a threat just be aware of Ace in the Hole.

Cassiopeia - She is another present from the other team! Mage feast if she is sent against you. Be aware of her Noxious Blast although your Null Sphere harassment should shut her down and by level 6 its game over for her. Petrifying Gaze can stun you and does ok damage but nothing a Cleanse can't fix.

Cho Gath - Early game beware of his Rupture.. Its not fun as you do not have Riftwalk yet.. His Feral Scream shouldn't be too annoying unless caught with it in a team fight which is a viable possibility. Its somewhat difficult to harass Cho Gath early game so if stuck with him in solo lane or by chance mid just focus on last hits and gank other lanes to get fed. Beware of Feast if low on HP.

Corki - Amazingly easy to harass before level 6. At level 6 he gets Missile Barrage which in my opinion still doesn't outweigh your harass with Null Sphere. After you get Riftwalk this champion is usually squishy enough to just punish repeatedly and shut down. Just be aware he can jump some walls or jump away with Valkyrie if you try to tower dive. Usually goes DPS so watch for him late game if he isn't shutdown by you at mid or fed by teammates.

Dr. Mundo - This champ is usually only encountered in solo lane if not then you will have to know this for team fights.. His Infected Cleaver is easily avoidable just make sure you stand behind your creep wave. The only thing to watch out for is when he pops his Sadism. If you took Ignite then this will be far less of a problem!

Evelynn - For the most part it is easy to shut her down. She is very squishy and most of the time relies on not being silenced. When laning against her she is very easily harassed. If the enemy team has her always assume she is around unless seen elsewhere. With this build you should be bulky enough to absorb her initial burst and Cleanse her Shadow Walk to be able to Riftwalk away or just turn around and beat her down.

Ezreal - The reason I mark him yellow is that he is often AD and not AP.. This means you may have a slight problem shutting him completely down. Although he doesn't have anything you really need to watch out for, other than when escaping watch for his Trueshot Barrage. Early game watch out for the Mystic Shot he uses for harassment, stand behind creep wave when anti-harassing with Null Sphere. Otherwise by level 6 this champion should be fairly easy to drop.

Fiddlesticks - Only a good Fiddlesticks will be able to lift a finger against you. Save your Null Sphere for when he uses Drain. Watch out for his darkwind as the silence lasts for a while and can prevent you from using Riftwalk if needed. Terror Can be annoying if he pairs it with Drain but just use Cleanse(if needed) and your Null Sphere. If you ever see him charging for his Crowstorm use your Null Sphere, and if you used it fast enough just point and laugh!

Galio - Galio should not be a major threat. He has a lot of HP and an annoying ultimate. Most of the time when attacking Galio you should be out of his Idol of Durand range you just need to be aware of his Resolute Smite slow and his low damage Righteous Gust that whirls in a straight line in front of him.. Also he can Bulwark an ally that makes Galio heal whenever the shielded one takes any damage.

Gangplank - Gangplank can go one of two ways. If he maxes his Remove Scurvy first he can be a pain to harass, but will suffer in his own harassment Parrrley and early damage if he does. Or he will try to max his Parrrley early which is even better for you as your harass is much greater than his in my opinion. His Cannon Barrage is completely worthless against Kassadin. The second he drops it make sure you Riftwalk right out of it then point and laugh. Throughout most early-mid game he will be easy to shutdown and gank as he is very squishy. Late game since he is an AD champion if needed burst him then joust for cooldowns then burst him the rest of the way.

Garen - Now the reason I mark this champion red is because he does considerable damage for how bulky he is. He can silence you with Decisive Strike, without Riftwalk he can move faster with his judgement, and his Demacian Justice does a decent chunk of pure burst damage. His Perseverance completely cancels your harassment unless you plan on being out of power quickly as it makes him regenerate health when not hit for 7 seconds. He is not marked red for the ability to shut you down. Hes marked red because he is remarkably hard to kill for the amount of annoyance he can put on you in a team fight making it hard to nuke and escape and move with Riftwalk because of his lengthy silence!

Gragas - Generally a squishier tank than most. He has a harass Barrel Roll you just need to avoid them which isn't too difficult. His Explosive Cask if used correctly can blast you towards his teammates but if he does that all you need to do is react quickly with a Cleanse(if needed), Riftwalk. His Body Slam does some decent damage but with Riftwalk it almost makes the slow worthless!

Heimerdinger - I mark him yellow because he is an exceptionally strong laner. I find though that if he is not going in your lane and you are mid he should be classified more as a green. When harassing Heimerdinger make sure you are behind 3 minions to avoid his Hextech Micro-Rockets. With the recent patches you will want to joust his turrets when harassing as they will auto target you. His CH-1 Concussion Grenade is easy to dodge and doesn't effect AP Kassadin a ton. If he is not going mid or not in your lane he is easy to gank because he is so squishy.

Irelia - Irelia is a very versatile champion capable of being used in several ways... If she builds DPS over Tank then you must treat her as a carry and make sure she gets shut down, if she builds tanky you need to do your best to avoid her and take out the carry's.. If you have higher health than her she can stun you but if its lower than it is a fairly weak slow... Her ultimate gives her tons of lifesteal around big minion waves so keep that in mind, and it has a fairly low cooldown..

Janna - Janna has few offensive skills.. Howling Gale conjures a tornado with a slight delay before it shoots off, watch for its knock up if it hits you but is generally easy to dodge. Zephyr can slow and do moderate damage but at the cost of slowing herself.. She has a absorbing shield Eye Of The Storm which you will want to avoid attacking her target when it is on them. in team fights she will most likely use her Monsoon try to focus her down(with Kassadin's burst) shouldn't be a problem.

Jax - Demon Leap. Jax can go one of two ways AD/AS/AP hybrid or AP heavy.. Before level 6 if he is played well he can out harass you with his Empower + Leap Strike try to avoid getting in range of his Leap Strike. After level 6 his he will not be able to attack much after he uses that combo as you will have Riftwalk. Which makes your nuke stronger than his.. In early game make sure you use a joust/nuke strategy on jax until you are sure a nuke+ignite combo will kill him. Avoid nuking while Relentless Assault is active.

Karma - To be added(Gathering Information)

Karthus - I wish I could come up with an easier color than green. If Karthus is ever stuck against you at mid. You should thank the enemy team!. His Lay Waste spam is so useless vs Kassadin because of your Null Sphere and its silence. He is a very squishy character making it VERY easy to harass. Lay Waste summons a brief land mine which can easily be dodged and gimped by standing near minions. His Defile is useless as you are almost always out of its range unless you are killing him. He has Wall of Pain but Riftwalk easily solves this dilemma.. Unless hes in another lane his Requiem will be useless because he should never get you low enough to use it on you!

Kassadin - May the best Kassadin win! Or if ranked this will not be an issue.

Katarina - Watch for her Bouncing Blades harassment, although at low level its low damage and doesn't bounce much. She almost has a mini Riftwalk with her Shunpo. This is the only skill you need to watch for early game against her, try to avoid getting any closer than you need to as its range isn't huge. Her ultimate Death Lotus is so easily dodged by Kassadin.. When you see her spinning just Riftwalk away.

Kayle - Kayle is no real danger out of team fights.. In team fights she has an amazing skill for going up against nukers like Kassadin called Intervention. Rarely will you lane against Kayle as Kassadin but when you do watch out for Reckoning and its slow. Although it does moderate damage it has a high mana cost so don't expect her to spam it too much. When trying to kill her beware of her Divine Blessing and using Ignite. Even though Ignite hinders heals it may still be enough to save her from death. Just harass her often when she gets low on mana and if she doesn't just focus on last hits and beat her late game.

Kennen - Kennen is a unique champion.. He is somewhat of a mage that uses energy instead of mana. To beat Kennen harass him behind your minions to avoid Thundering Shuriken, beware of his Lightning Rush and Electrical Surge combo early game.. But after level 6 if you haven't already beaten him in the lane it will become way easier with Riftwalk. His ultimate Slicing Maelstrom is very easy to dodge with Riftwalk and Cleanse(if needed).. Just remember if he uses Lightning Rush to silence him and attempt to get away from him(if he hit you with it) so he cant hit you with surge.

Kog Maw - Kog Maw usually goes AD/AS.. This means your silence wont do as much to him like it would an AP but he is still squishy which means your nuke will still be very effective. His ultimate Living Artillery and his slow Void Ooze are very easy to avoid and escape using Riftwalk. Kog Maw is just gonna be one of those champions you want to joust between nukes because his auto attacks will slam you if you can't get him at least to 20-30% with one nuke sequence.. Probably one of the priorities in team fights!

Leblanc - She like almost all mages is gonna be food for you. sigil of silence is mediocre compared to your Null Sphere just joust away from that to avoid the silence.. She has a mini-riftwalk early game with her Distortion. Be aware that Leblanc has some high offensive capability compared to you early game IF YOU LET HER.. Joust her sigil of silence and Distortion, when you see Ethereal Chains joust it to avoid the stun. Leblanc is a lot about getting in and out.. Harass and get out rinse and repeat.. She is squishy and will take loads from Null Sphere do not rush things.

Lux - Lux is one of the easier mages to fight as Kassadin. Light Binding is easily avoided by staying behind creep wave. Her Prismatic Barrier just doesn't ward enough damage to be scared of it. Lucent Singularity is easily seen and avoided just don't walk into its area when its on the ground.. This champion is Kassadin food, feed on her often. After she hits level 6 if you are getting away with low health beware of Finales Funkeln it can ruin your day.. Just get out of her visual range quickly and change direction to avoid it.. Otherwise this champion is a walk in the park to fight.

Malphite - The evil rock man.. I mark him red only for when you are laning against him.. Hes not so bad if not fed and team fighting.. For one he is nearly impossible to harass due to Granite Shield early game.. Focus on last hitting and beat him late game. His main harass is Seismic Shard and Ground Slam, he shouldn't be able to harass too much early game though due to his power issues unless he took clarity. In team fights you need to beware of his ultimate Unstoppable Force, its not the knockup that will kill you its the fact that it hits all your team in the area which means they can't help you.. Malphite is just mean fight him always with a little bit of caution.

Malzahar - Oh the rage I have for this champion is so great. One of the few champions Kassadin can't run away from as Cleanse doesn't work against his ultimate. His Call of the Void is a silence/damage that is easily avoidable. His Malefic Visions make out harassing him early game nearly impossible. But what makes Malzahar red worthy is his combo after level 6. Malefic Visions + Null Zone + Nether Grasp is a combo that will keep you immobile doing extreme amounts of damage which we all know as Kassadin = game over. What you need to do is tell you teammates early game to interrupt his Nether Grasp channel when he uses it on you(any smart Malzahar will). If you are 1v1'ing him make sure to be VERY VERY careful to avoid this combo. Joust far after hitting him with silence to do so unless you have boots and he doesn't for some reason.. The number one reason this champion is by far the worst in the game to fight as Kassadin is because Nether Grasp will be making you drool while all of his teammates focus you to oblivion.. This champion will take some getting used to fighting as Kassadin.

Master Yi - This champion I have seen go mad AS/AD and AP/AS.. Alpha Strike is dangerous when Kassadin because if you panic and Riftwalk away when he uses it he will still pop on top of you after its over. You want to just keep your range on this champion harassing whenever possible, beware he is hard to harass when going AP because his Meditate becomes far more effective. When he uses his ultimate Highlander try to refrain from running directly away from him with Riftwalk try to rift through walls and use misdirection(juking) to get away from him as his runspeed will be insane..

Miss Fortune - Miss Fortune is a common champion to find at mid, which is what you should be taking as much as possible(or solo top).. Attempt to out harass her early game or she has an easier time out farming you. Her Double Up is annoying but takes a bunch of her mana. Make it Rain is a fairly small radius slow and easy to get out of even more so at level 6+. Her ultimate Bullet Time is also easy to escape from using Riftwalk.. She is almost always an AD/AS champion so nuke/jousting is going to have to happen unless you are just shutting her down.. Impure Shots will give her a fairly large boost in attack speed so try to avoid attacking her when this is active if you can help it.. Unless your just doing 4/5 of her health in one nuke.

Mordekaiser - Mordekaiser uses health for all of his attacks, but a portion of his attacks/skills damage add to his shield bar which retains all of his resists.. Mord is a great farmer and almost impossible to harass when he is around big waves of creeps. Big things to watch out for is attacking him only when his shield bar is down or very close to down, his ultimate Children of the Grave will guarantee your death below 25% especially if he uses Ignite with it, try to stay out the cone range of his Siphon of Destruction, and try to avoid standing next to whoever he puts Creeping Death on..

Morgana - This is going to be one of the only mages I mark yellow in this rundown.. The reason behind this isn't that she can easily kill you or annoy you.. Its because of her Soul Siphon which makes it hard to harass her and win your lane early game.. This champion you want to focus on last hitting when facing and decimate her late game.. Dark Binding is easily avoidable as it travels slow and is pointless for her if you are standing behind your creep wave. Her ultimate Soul Shackles is nice but easily avoidable with Kassadin, you will see a red line going toward you if she is using this.. Just Riftwalk away to avoid the stun and damage over time.. And avoid standing in her Tormented Soil its also easily avoided.. Her Black Shield can absorb one of your nukes in your combo beware..

Nasus - In the rare case you are laning against Nasus being as you usually will take mid or solo lane, you are not going to have fun.. His passive Soul Eater makes harassing him early game just about useless. Try to stay out of his melee range as much as possible, if he lands Wither on you and it might get you into trouble quickly use Cleanse and run back. His Spirit Fire is very bright and obvious and usually easily avoidable. Fury of the Sands his ultimate will make him big and cause him to turn silvery, not hard to miss, when he does this you want to try to avoid him unless he is in killable condition or your whole team is about to own him alone. When ganking him and he has his ultimate up he can avoid it if running away with low HP and ignite is on by turning on his ultimate which gives him health, watch out for this.

Nidalee - Two words, EVIL JAVELIN.. Javelin Toss / Takedown This is a slow moving, long range javelin that does sick nasty damage if you somehow get caught in it.. Avoid it all costs, after fighting a few nidalee's they start to get predictable with it. A good Nidalee will cancel and harass you throw at her with Primal Surge / Swipe. She can lay traps on the ground with Bushwhack / Pounce these can be seen and avoided if not careless. She has a unique ultimate Aspect Of The Cougar which flips her into cougar mode making all her skills go into cougar mode. When she is in cougar mode I do not feel she is a huge danger to Kassadin you just need to treat her more like you would a melee AD/AS character.. Just watch out for Pounce it is a fantastic chasing ability if you are low on mana and are unable to Riftwalk away.

Nocturne - Fairly strong AD champ, he is somewhat easy to escape from as he only has one CC if you don't Riftwalk out of it.. His Duskbringer is avoidable by running left and right when you see him cast it... He does have a spellshield that will double hit passive buff attackspeed if it absorbs a spell.. Kite this champion at all costs unless your fed enough.. His ultimate will teleport him onto you if he chooses also eliminating your team vision, if this happens WAIT until he lands to Riftwalk away..

Nunu I was close to marking him red but decided he should remain yellow since you rarely will be laning against him. He is an excellent harasser with Ice Blast(quick cooldown and decent damage) and has supreme survivability with Consume a smite like spell that heals him with a moderate cooldown.. If you see him using his ultimate Absolute Zero SILENCE HIM!! This renders it completely useless. Just be careful 1v1'ing Nunu because if he is geared for cooldown his Ice Blast will do a number on you and make it hard to escape even with Riftwalk

Olaf - Rarely laned against in a mid/solo lane situation so I'm gonna talk more about team fighting against him. He has a slow Undertow by throwing an axe at you and doing some damage, can be avoided not as easy as some. Be aware for when he puts Vicious Strikes on himself he will be stealing massive life and attacking very hard, the same goes for his ultimate Ragnarok this makes him dangerous and hard to kill.. When these two things are on cooldown he is FAR weaker.. Try to keep him a bit lower on your priorities in team fighting..

Pantheon - Pantheon is not terribly hard to lane against as Kassadin. Try to avoid getting harassed until level 3 when your Null Sphere can out harass his spear.. When fighting Pantheon you need to always beware of his Aegis of Zeonia + Heartseeker Strike combo, it will stun you and do massive damage. His ultimate Grand Skyfall is somewhat useless against Kassadin because you will see it coming and be able to Riftwalk to safety. Remember to have Cleanse handy if you get into a difficult situation against Pantheon.

Poppy - Easy to harass Poppy. Do not get inbetween Poppy and a wall or her Heroic Charge paired with Devastating Blow is gonna do a number on you.. Try to kite her around harassing her as you fight her not letting her get close if you can help it to avoid that combo.. Her ultimate Diplomatic Immunity lets only the person she put it on damage her while doing 50% more damage to the person she selects.. This can be good or bad for you.. If you are chasing her and she puts this on someone else(most likely the case) just break off chase and go for someone else..

Rammus - Rammus is very hard to harass because of his Defensive Ball Curl. You need to try to ignore him in team fights as much as possible as hes probably not gonna be putting out much damage. His ultimate Tremors paired with Puncturing Taunt can be pretty harsh as Kassadin so once you get taunted I would recommend using Cleanse to prevent you from being a sitting duck. Try to use Riftwalk to avoid his CC ability Powerball but make sure to do it through walls as it makes Rammus very quick..

Renekton - Renekton is unlike all champions in that he uses fury in place of mana,energy.. This can be annoying because it means he can spam all of his abilities. Cull the Meek is a low damage aoe that does a slight heal to Renekton.. Be aware of this when trying to harass him. His Ruthless Predator and Slice and Dice combo can be dangerous as Kassadin as he can jump in stun hit and jump out.. His ultimate Dominus is much like Nasus' as it puts an aura up that gives him health, and damages all who are near him.. Same rules apply..

Ryze - Right now this character is complete food.. He has good burst but your silence will completely shut him down. He is cake to harass with Null Sphere and has low HP.. 10/10 times if you are playing Kassadin correctly this champ will get completely shut down by you.. Just be aware when he pops Desperate Power because its gonna give him extra burst. One nuke sequence from you will burn this champion down almost completely. EDIT: Atm not sure how the Ryze change will effect vs Kassadin will post as soon as the knowledge is aquired.

Shaco - Shaco is a very squishy assassin like character.. Most often he is a jungler but on the off chance you are laning against him he is exceptionally easy to harass, the one thing to be cautious about though is Deceive.. This allows him to stealth briefly, when he does this backup until he unstealths. His Two-Shiv Poison slows and enables him to harass but not better than your Null Sphere. His ultimate Hallucinate can be combated easily, look for non-pet movements, or ignite him before he has a chance to use it and you are trying to kill him(Ignite will be on the real one).. If he comes out of no where using it just back until you know which one is real!

Shen - Shen is the epitome of a tank.. He uses Feint to absorb damage which can put a hinder on your harass or absorb most of a Force Pulse. He also has a very unique ultimate Stand United, CAUTION!!! When ganking someone else and Shen is on their team this can put a small period of time when that person will not take any damage!.. Sometimes it wont matter depending on the situation..

Singed - Annoying tank is a good expression for Singed. Be wary of Poison Trail when attempting to chase him down it will drain your health sometimes without you even noticing.. Fling is very dangerous if you are low health sitting next to a tower it can fling you away from the tower just long enough for the enemy team to tower dive you.. Also watch out for this ability in team fighting, it can pull you out of placement quickly. Mega Adhesive is a slowing ability that is easy to avoid with Riftwalk.. Last but not least his ultimate Insanity Potion, this boosts almost all of his stats pretty well making him extremely dangerous be careful attacking him in this state.

Sion - He is a pain.. He has a great ability for canceling your harass and clearing large waves of creeps called Death's Caress, try to avoid hitting him with Null Sphere when this is active if you are trying to harass him.. He has a stun Cryptic Gaze, make sure to watch for this as it sets up for ganks nicely, use Cleanse if needed to get away from this.. His ultimate Cannibalism gives him nice lifesteal make sure to nuke/joust him when this is active!

Sivir - She is an excellent farmer using her Ricochet ability, be aware of this when standing near your creep wave.. Her harassment ability Boomerang Blade is easily avoidable if you move left/right and not straight back. Watch out when harassing her and she uses Spell Shield this is avoidable if you are "sneaky" and not predictable in using Null Sphere.. Her ultimate On The Hunt greatly increases her attack speed along with those around her try and nuke/joust her when this is active!

Sona - She is a standard support mage.. I don't know a great deal about her skills specifically but prioritize her in team fights as she is squishy, basically treat her like you would most other mages as Kassadin. Very easy to feed on her!

Soraka - She has one map wide heal Wish when ganking anybody when she is in play be aware that she could use it anytime to heal anybody when its up.. If she is near she can heal even more with Astral Blessing!.. Prioritize in getting her down and silencing her in team fights to nullify the help she can provide her team!.. Her ability Infuse can silence if she chooses to use on an enemy!

Swain - Swain is what I would like to call a tanky/mage.. Reason for this is his ultimate Ravenous Flock which can do decent damage and heal him greatly if used around creep waves.. He has a slow Decrepify that is easily canceled if jousted! He has a decent length stun Nevermove which is delayed and avoidable as most Swain's are predictable in using it. Watch for his harass Torment a DoT if you are attempting to get him down before level 6..

Taric - Taric is unique in League as being somewhat of a Paladin(Tanky Healer).. His ultimate Radiance is an aura heal that constantly drains mana in return for HoT and a resistance boost to all ally's near him, he also has a heal Imbue.. Beware of these when fighting Taric or anyone near him!!!.. He has a decent length stun Dazzle that you will need to watch out for!. Taric can put an aura Shatter on himself that boosts armor to all around him, this obviously doesn't really matter to AP Kassadin BUT if he uses it, it will do damage to all around him.. This is more hurtful early game, toward late game its more mediocre damage and less of a caution priority..

Teemo - He is mostly an AD/AS champion. He has a Blinding Dart which does mediocre damage and blinds(This doesn't matter much for AP Kassadin).. Move Quick allows him to move very quickly but is easily canceled out by throwing a Null Sphere at him. He has a poison component to his auto attacks because of Toxic Shot, try hard to avoid his auto's because of this fact! He is also well known for his Noxious Trap which not only slow and damage BUT can be used as sight wards, be aware of this when attempting to gank Teemo.

Tristana - Mainly a AD/AS champion so make sure you are avoiding her auto's as much as possible! Rapid Fire when this is active try to avoid her, Rocket Jump gives her enhanced chase/escape ability although its still no match for your Riftwalk. Her ultimate Buster Shot comes with decent damage early game and knocks back which can be annoying when trying to chase her down!

Trundle - Trundle throughout the game should be low priority for Kassadin. He has a combo using Contaminate and Pillar of Filth, when Contaminate is up he gains movement speed, CC reduction, and attack speed. Try to avoid fighting him in this aura. His slow Pillar of Filth is easily avoidable with Riftwalk as it is only near the pillar you will be slowed.. His ultimate Agony just beefs him up more as a tank, so like I said avoid nuking him and pick the squishier targets if possible..

Tryndamere - He is green only to you.. He is a LARGE danger to all around him as his auto attacks hit HARD!.. Bloodlust increases his crit greatly with stacks and also gives him a small emergency heal if needed. Mocking Shout is a pretty decent slow that can be avoided if your facing him, this slow at late levels is lengthy don't be afraid to Cleanse it to get away!!! His Spinning Slash can allow him to chase you through some walls so be aware of this when attempting to escape! Lastly his ultimate Undying Rage defines him and makes him VERY annoying, when he uses this stay out of melee range but in Riftwalk range if possible so you can finish him off when it turns off!

Twisted Fate - This champion is very good food if played against correctly.. He is easily harassed with Null Sphere. His ability Wild Cards is almost useless as its insanely easy to avoid and does mediocre damage. The skill to watch out for is Pick A Card, it has 3 different colors try to avoid him when he has this ability active. Yellow and Red are a stun/slow and the worst with Blue being only a mana regen paired with some damage. Destiny allows him to see everyone on the map and port to anywhere when it is active, be cautious of this if trying to escape!!

Twitch - I wasn't sure if I wanted to mark him green or yellow, decided yellow was probably the better choice.. His Ambush is very uneffective vs Kassadin after level 6+ because you will be able to just Riftwalk away if he surprises you! His Venom Cask can slow you so be aware of that along with expunge which can let him do a little bit more burst damage.. His ultimate spray and pray give his auto attacks a armor piercing effect, be cautious standing behind minions etc with this is active..

Udyr - This champion is very difficult to combat as Kassadin.. Unlike any other champion he has no ultimate.. Instead he relies on 4 stances. Tiger Stance gives him insane attack speed, be map aware for him backdooring towers using this ability.. Turtle Stance allows him to put a decent shield on himself and gives him a mana/health steal based on his damage, try not harassing him when this first goes active. Bear Stance this one makes him fast and annoying and gives him a short stun, when you see this stance go active he is either running or trying to chase someone down be aware of this as a gank could be coming.. Phoenix Stance is a pulsing aoe over a few seconds, this isn't a huge danger to Kassadin in comparison to the other stances..

Vayne - Vayne is in my opinion food for Kassadin.. As long as you MAX range her with your Q and only get close if you can nuke her down the rest of the way.. With her Tumble she can do some pretty rapid damage if not careful.. To avoid this always remember she has the ability to close distance on you quickly and make sure to step back after harassing her with your Q.. Her Condemn will launch you backward and if into a wall stun you... Try to avoid putting yourself between Vayne and walls. Her ultimate gives her the ability to stealth when tumbling and makes her run fast when chasing champions... If you are low on health running from a Vayne make sure to use jungle walls to get away rather than just using distance with your riftwalk..

Vladimir - This champion is a very tanky mage and the only mage who is unique in that he does not use mana.. When harassing him watch out for his Transfusion this will be a nasty counter harass if he can get it off, to help avoid it wait until he uses it on a minion to throw your harass.. When going in for a kill on Vladimir be aware that he can Sanguine Pool to avoid damage and slow everyone around him.. His ultimate Hemoplague fools you into believing you have more health that you actually do as it is a delayed damage.. BE VERY CAUTIOUS OF THIS!..

Warwick - Reason he is not red and yellow even though he has one of the two nasty suppression abilities in the game Infinite Duress is that he is a melee character.. Unlike Malzahar he doesn't have the raw nuke capabilities.. When fighting warwick be cautious of thinking he is really vulnerable, with Hungering Strike he can leach some life. Hunters Call gives him a attack speed increase try to avoid committing to a fight with him while this is active.. Also Blood Scent gives him very quick run speed when you are low on health, to avoid this try warping through walls to escape instead of just warping straight away.

Xin Zhao - If you by chance get a lane against this character get a lane switch right away.. He has a combo Audacious Charge and Three Talon Strike that will decimate you in the early game and keep you from farming effectively.. He is hard to harass not only because of that combo but because he is generally a beefier champion.. His ultimate Crescent Sweep isn't too special it does moderate damage +20% HP.. Also avoid fighting him when he has Battle Cry active if possible.. This character throughout the game is gonna have to take extreme nuke/joust tactics.. Although after level 6 he becomes considerably less dangerous!

Zilean - This champion is a very squishy mage.. Watch his early game harass with Time Bomb before level 3 it will be far stronger than yours.. After level 3 he will become food. He has the ability to speed up himself or an ally or slow an enemy using Time Warp. He can reset some of his cooldowns with Rewind which isn't too big of a deal for you as you will be going through his health in seconds.. His ultimate Chronoshift is something to be aware of though, it will make someone glow gold when it is active, if him or an ally is killed while this is active they come back with a considerable amount of health.. To avoid this either wait to kill them if possible, if its a carry dont be afraid to kill the carry because that will at least get them out of the fight for a few seconds and also lets you quickly deal with zilean himself..

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!